Mekong River massacre

Mekong River massacre
Location of Chiang Rai Province in Thailand
Location	Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand
Coordinates	20°17′N 100°05′E / 20.28°N 100.09°E / 20.28; 100.09Coordinates: 20°17′N 100°05′E / 20.28°N 100.09°E / 20.28; 100.09
Date	5 October 2011 (2011-10-05)
Attack type	Hijacking of ships, massacre
Deaths	13 Chinese crew members
Suspected perpetrators	Naw Kham, 9 Thai soldiers

The Mekong River massacre occurred in the morning of 5 October 2011, when two Chinese cargo ships were attacked on a stretch of the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle region on the borders of Burma and Thailand. All 13 crew members on the two ships were killed and dumped in the river. It is the deadliest attack on Chinese nationals abroad in modern times. In response China temporarily suspended shipping on the Mekong, and reached agreement with Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Laos to jointly patrol the river. The event was also the impetus for the Naypyidaw Declaration and other anti-drug cooperation efforts in the region.

"On Oct 28, 23 days after the massacre,Thailand "arrested" the nine Pha Muang Task Force soldiers, who have since disappeared from the justice system", according to Bangkok Post in 2016.

The Mekong is a major waterway of Southeast Asia. It originates in China, where it is called the Lancang River, and flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where it empties into the South China Sea. It is a major trading route between China's southwestern Yunnan Province and the countries of Southeast Asia. However, after leaving China the river flows through the Golden Triangle area where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos meet. The region has long been plagued by lawlessness and is notorious for drug smuggling. An owner of one of the hijacked ships stated that almost every Chinese boat in the area had been robbed by river gangs.

According to the crew of a different boat who witnessed the attack, about eight gunmen stormed the Chinese cargo ships Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8 in the morning of 5 October 2011. The hijacking reportedly occurred in Burmese waters. Later during the day Thai river police in the northernmost Chiang Rai Province recovered the ships after a gunfight, and found about 900,000 amphetamine pills worth more than US$3 million. The bodies of the Chinese crew members were later retrieved from the river. They had been shot or stabbed, and some had been bound or blindfolded.